Welt-beating machine.



A. F. LITTLEFIELD.

WELT BEATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 3. 1912.

1,165,?89, Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

dzwcsseca COLUMBIA PLANDGRAPH C0,,wAsHlNu'roN. D. c.

A. F. LITTLEFIELD.

WELT BEATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT- 3, 1912.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

A. F. UTTLEFiELD.

Patented Dec. 28, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

AS SIGJXFQ Pt T 8 UNITED SHOE MACHINERY GOLIPANY, OF PATER-SUN, I-EE'W.il. COEPORA'ZIGN OF NEW JERSEY.

WELT-BEATING MACHINE.

Application filed. September 13, 1812.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, AUGUSTINE F. LIT-rLnrmLI), a. citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in thecounty of Essex and State of Massachusetts. have invented certain newand useful Improvements in Weltlieating Machines; and I do herebydeclare the following to be a. full, clear, and exact description of theinvention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

The present invention relates to welt beating machines.

As is well known to those skilled in the art, in the manufacture ofGoodyear shoes, the welt, after being attached to the upper and insole,is subjected to a beating operation to cause the welt to lie flat in sulstantially the plane of the insole. The inner and outer edges of thewelt are equal in length before the welt is attached to the shoe, and inorder to cause the welt to lie flat in the plane of the insole itisnecessary to stretch the outer edge of the welt at 'convexly curvedportions of the shoe, particularly at the toe. In order to stretch theouter edge of the welt it is often found necessary to subject the weltat curved portions of the shoe several times to the action of the weltheating element, and in order to permit the outer edge of the welt tostretch more readily it has been the practice to cut transverse slashespartially through the welt on its under side. These slashes necessarilyweaken the welt.

The primary object of the present inventionis to produce a welt beatingmachine by which the welt may be beaten out in substantially the planeof the throughout its length in a rapid and efficient manner withoutcutting slashes at any point therein or otherwise weakening the welt.

ll ith the above object in view a feature of the invention contemplatesthe provision in a welt beating machine having a welt support of aheater for engaging and heat ing out the Welt having welt beating facesof different characters for beating out different portions of the welt,and arranged for actuation to bring said welt beating insole ISpecification of Letters Patent.

Serial No. 718,285.

faces alternatively into operative position with relation to the weltsupport.

In the best form of the invention which has yet been devised the machineis provided with a beater consisting of a vibratory welt beating hammerhaving welt heating faces of different characters on its welt engagingend. and arranged to rotate on an axis substantially perpendicular tothe surface of the welt support to place any one of the welt beatingfaces of the hammer in operative position.

Further features of the invention consist of certain constructions,arrangements, and combinations of parts, the advantages of which will beobvious to one skilled in the art from the following description.

In the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention in the best format present known to the inventor Figure l is a view in side elevation ofa welt beating machine embodying the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view ofthe machine; Fig 2 is a detail plan view of the forward portion of themachine below the hammer lever; Fig. 3 is a. detail sectional view takenon the line 33 of Fig. 1. looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 4is a detail sectional. view taken on the line i t of Fig. l; and Fig. 5is a detail underside plan view of the hammer and certain parts adjacentthereto.

The machine illustrated in the drawings is provided with a heaterconsisting of a vibratory han'nner indicated at 1 fo engaging andbeating out the welt. This hammer mounted in the forward extremity of anoscillatory hammer lever 2, the movements of which cause the hammer tovibrate or recipro "ate and beat the welt on the welt support. Thehammer lever 2 is pivoted on a. shaft 8 mounted in the frame of the ma.-chine and oscillated by an eccentric mechanism connected with its rearend. The rear end of the hammer lever is forked and receives within thefork a block carried by an eccentric 5 upon the main shaft 6 of themachine. The forked end of the hammer lever is made adjustable to takeup rear by providing a bolt 8 by means of which the twoends of the forkmay be drawn toward each other and secured by nuts on said bolt.

Another bolt 9 is provided by means of which the two forks may beseparated, if desired.

A work support 10 is provided, the forward end of which is shaped toenter the crease between the upper and the welt of a welted shoe, and tosupport the welt on its upper surface. The work support 1s secured byscrews 11 to the forward end of.

a lever 12 pivoted at 13, which lever is actuated to impart lateralmovements to the work support in a manner and for a purpose hereinafterset forth.

In the present invention the hammer is provic ed with welt beating facesof different characters for operating on the welt, and is arranged sothat these welt beating faces may be brought alternatively into positionto engage the welt. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention thehammer is provided with a welt beating face 15 which is smooth andslightly convex, and extends substantially parallel with the uppersurface of the work support. The welt beating face 15 is designedparticularly for use in operating on portions of the welt extendingalong comparatively straight portions of the shoe, and operates in theusual manner to beat the welt out flat in the plane of the insole. Inaddition to the welt beating face 15, the hammer 1 is provided with asecond welt beating face 16, of different character from the face 15. Inthe construction illustrated, the face 16 of the hammer is provided witha series of wedge-shaped blunt faced axially parallel ridges 18 risingfrom the plain surface of said face. he ridges 18 are arranged so thatwhen the welt beating face 16 on the hammer is brought into operatingposition with relation to the welt on the welt support, the ridges willengage the welt transversely with their wider or diverging ends nearerto the outer edge of the welt. To this end, in the structureillustrated, the ridges are formed so that they extend outwarclly fromthe central portion of the hammer, and are disposed with their taperingor converging ends nearer the circumference of the hammer. The weltbeating face 16 is designed particularly for operating on the welt atconvexly curved portions of the shoe, such as the toe. These ridges,when the face 16 of the hammer is brought into engagement with the welt,distort and re shape the substance of the welt to form a series offurrows in the lower face thereof, the welt being thereby stretched in adirection transversely to the ridges.

The hammer 1 is illustrated in the drawings with the welt beating face15 thereof located in operating position over the work support, and withthewelt beating face 16 placed to the rear of the work support, out. ofoperating position. In order that either of the welt beating faces ofthe hammer may be placed in operating position with relation to thewelt, the hammer is rotatably mounted in the hammer lever 2. In theillustrated embodiment of the invention the construction employed forrotatably supporting the hammer in the hammer lever is as follows: Thehammer is secured in any suitable manner to the lower end of acylindrical rod or shaft 19 which is rotatably mounted in a sleeve 20carried by the hammer lever. The shaft 19 is formed with a flange orcollar 21 which abuts against the lower end of the sleeve 20, and theupper end of the shaft is threaded to receive a nut 22 which engages theupper end of the sleeve. The rod 19 is thus heldfroni longitudinalmovement. with relation to the sleeve 20, but is permitted to rotatefreely in the sleeve. In order to permit the hammer to yield whenbrought into engagement with the welt on the welt support, the sleeve 20is mounted to slide in an outer sleeve which is threaded into the bore24: formed in the forward end of the hammer lever 2, the lower end ofthe sleeve 20 being formed with a shoulder 25 which engages and isguided by the adjacent wall of the bore in the hammcr lever. A coiledspring 26 surrounds the sleeve 20, and is seated at one end in a bore 27in the sleeve 23, and at the other end engages the shoulder 25 on thesleeve 20. The downward movement of the sleeve 20 and the hammer withrelation to the sleeve 23 and the hammer leveris limited by anadjustable split stop collar 28 threaded. on the upper end of the sleeve20 and clamped in adjusted position thereon by a clamping screw 29. Awasher 30, of felt or other fibrous material, is interposed between thecollar and the upper end of the sleeve 23, to act as a cushion betweenthe collar and the sleeve. The sleeve 20 is held from turning movementin the hammer lever by means of a key indicated at 31 secured to thelower end of the sleeve 20, the outer portion of which key operates in asuitable keyway 32 formed in the adjacent wall of the hammer lever. Thekey 31 is secured to the sleeve 20 by means of a pin 33 projectinginwardly from the key, which is driven into a bore 3% in the sleeve, theinner portion of the key being seated in a groove in the sleeve when thepin has'loeen driven home. The sleeve 23 is held in adjusted position inthe ham.-

vmer lever by a lock nut 35. The position of the hammer in the hammerlever may be adjusted to suit welts of varying thicknesses withoutvarying the tension of the spring, by adjusting the sleeve 23. Thetension of the spring may be varied without changing the. position ofthe hammer in the hammer lever by suitable adjustments of the sleeve 23and the stop collar 28. Adjustment of the stop collar 28 alone variesboth the position of the hammer in the hammer lever and the tension ofthe spring. It is to be noted particularly that the manner in which thehammer is supported in the hammer lever permits the hammer to be freelyrotated on an axis substantially parallel with its direction ofreciprocat-ory movement, and that the spring 26 is so placed that itdoes not interfere in the slightest degree with the free rotary movementof the hammer.

The lower end of the key 3]. projects downwardly beyond the lower end ofthe sleeve 20, and is arranged for engagement bv shoulders 36 and 37formed on the flange 21 of the shaft 19 which supports the hammer, thesaid key acting as a stop to limit the rotary movement of the hammer.The shoulders 36 and 37 are arranged so that when one of said shouldersis in engagement with the key 31 the hammer may be rotated through halfa revolution before the other shoulder is engaged by the key, and therelative positions of the key and shoulders are such that when either ofsaid shoulders is in engagement with the key the corresponding face ofthe hammer will be located in proper operating position over the weltsupport. When the face 15 of the hammer is in operating position, theshoulder 36 is in engagement with the kev 31. When it is desired tobring the welt beating face 16 of the hammer into operating positionwith relation to the welt, the hammer is rotated to the right (Figs. 4and 5) until the shoulder 37 engages the key 31. The hammer will thenhave made substantially half a revolution, and the welt beating face 16will have been brought into correct operating position over the weltsupport.

In order to place either of the welt beating faces of the hammer inoperating position with relation to the welt, mechanism is pro-- videdfor rotating the hammer, said mechanism being arranged to be controlledby the operator, so that either of the welt beating faces of the hammermay be placed in operating position as desired. In the illustratedembodiment of the invention the mechanism for rotating the hammercomprises a flexible strap 38 which passes about a cylindrical portionof the shaft 19 below the flange 21, and is secured to said shaft bymeans of a screw 39. The inner end of thestrap 38 is connected with theend of a coiled spring 40 mounted in a bore in. the hammer lever. theother end of said spring being secured to a pin all mounted in thehammer lever. The strap 38, after passing from the spring 40 about theshaft 19, extends rearwardly through a slot in the shaft 3, over a guidepulley 1%, and is connected at its extremity with a lever 45. The lever45 is pivoted on a screw 46 secured to the machine frame, and isconnected with a foot treadle (not shown) by means of a treadle rod 47.A tension. spring 48 is connected at one end with the lever 45 and atthe other to a fixed point on the machine frame, and normally holds thelever 1-5 in the position ilhistrated in Fig. 1, a stop screw 50 securedto the lever and arranged to engage the frame of the machine limitingthe upward movement of the said lever. The downward movement of thelever is limited by second stop screw The spring it normally holds thehanr mer lever in a position such that the shoulder 36 engages the key31, and the welt beating face 15 of the hammer is in operating positionover the welt support.

As previously stated, the welt beating face 15 is designed particularlyto operate upon comparatively straight portions of the welt.

in the operation of beating out the welt the portion of the weltadjacent the heel seat is first placed on the welt support. When theoperator arrives at a portion of the welt the outer edge of which mustbe stretched in order to cause the welt to lie flat in the plane of theinsole, the treadle is depressed, thereby rotating the hammer andbringing the face 16 thereof into operating position with relation tothe welt. The ridges 18 on this portion of the hammer will then engagethe welt transversely, and the portion of the welt engaged thereby willbe stretched in the direction of the length of the welt. On

.account of the arrangement of the ridges with the wider portionsthereof nearer the center of the hammer when the face 16 of the hammeris brought into operating position the ridges will engage the welt withtheir wider portions nearer the outer edge of the welt. The stretchingaction of the ridges therefore is greatest near the outer edge of thewelt, and decreases toward the inner edge of the welt. When it is againdesired to bring the smooth face 15 of the hammer into position toengage the welt, the treadle is released and the hammer is restored toits initial position by the action of the spring 40.

The work support 10 is arranged to vi-- brate in a plane substantiallyparallel with the work supporting surface thereof and in the generaldirection of the line of feed to work the forward end of the worksupport in closer to the inseam of the shoe. As stated above, the worksupport is socured to the forward end of a lever 12 which is pivoted at13. The pivot pin upon which the lever is pivoted is shouldered asillustrated in F 1, and the lower end of the pin is seated in a bore inan angular bracket 5 1 adjustably mounted on a plate secured to theframe of the machine. The bracket 54 is provided with a horizontalgroore which receives a rib 56 on the plate 55, and the bracket isclamped on the plate by means of a clamping screw 57 which passesthrough the bracket and the plate and is screwed into the frame, awasher 58 being interposed between the head of the screw and thebracket. The perforation in the bracket 54 through which the screw 57passes is considerably larger than the shank of the clamping screw, asshown in Fig. 1, to permit a forward and rearward adjustment of thebracket 54 on the plate 55. By the provision for forward and rearwardadjustment of the bracket 5f, the lever 12 which carries 7 the worksupport may be moved forwardly and rearwardly to bring the work supportinto proper relation to the hammer 1. The plate 55 is secured to theframe of the machine by the screw 57 and by a second screw 59.

In order to prevent the lever 12 from being displaced with relation toits pivot, a bracket 59 is secured to the side of the bracket 54:, andis provided with a recessed upwgufdly projecting portion which embracesthe lever 19, the faces of the recess being arranged to engage machinedsurfaces formed on the lever. The lever 12 is vibrated on the pivot pin53 to impart vibratory movements to the work support 10 by a. rotary camdisk 60 which engages a roll 61 mounted on the rear end of the lever 12,the roll 61 being held in engagement with the exterior of the cam diskby a coiled spring 62 attached at one extremity to the lever 12 and atthe other to a fixed point on the frame of the machine. The cam disk('30 is secured to a worm wheel 63 rotatably mounted on a stud 6stprojecting rearwin'dly from the frame of the machine, and the worm wheel(33 is rotated by a worm 65 mounted on the shaft (5 of the machine andmeshing with the worm wheel. By this construction, when the shaft 6 isrotated to impart vibratory movements to the hammer lever, the worksupport is vibrated back and forth in the general direction of the lineof feed, and this vibratory movement of the work support acts to workthe forward end of the support in close to the inseam of the shoe,thereby enabling the inner portion of the welt to be beaten out in amore satisfactory manner. The mechanism for vibrating the work supportis preferably constructed and arranged to impart one vibration to thelever 12 and to the work support for substan tially every fourvibrations of the hammer. The ratio ofnumber of vibrations imparted tothe work support to the number of vib z tions of the hammer may,however, be varied as desired by varying the construction of the camdisk or of the mechanism for rotating the cam disk.

\Vhile in the illustrated embodiment of the invention the welt beatinghammer has been illustrated and described as provided with only two weltbeating faces of different characters, it will be readily seen that thehammer might be provided with three or more welt beating faces differingin character, and the hammer might be actuated to bring any one of thesefaces into operating position as desired.

It is to be understood that except as delined in the claims theinvention is not limited to the particular construction or arrangementof parts of theillustrated embodiment, but may be embodied in otherforms without departing from the invention.

Having explained the nature and, object of the invention, and havingdescribed a machine embodying the, same in its preferred form, what isclaimed is p 1. A welt beating machine, having, in combination, asupport for the welt of a lasted shoe, and welt beating means havingwelt beating faces of different characters and arranged. for actuationto bring said welt beating faces alternatively into operating positionwith relationto the welt support.

L. A welt beating machine, having, in combination, a welt support, awelt beater having welt beating faces of different characters, and meansunder the control of the opeartor to actuate said beater to bringthe"welt beating faces thereof alternatively into operating position withrelation to the welt support.

3. A welt beating machine, having, in combination, a support for theWelt of a lasted shoe, a welt beating hammer having welt beating facesof different characters and arranged for actuation to bring the weltbeating faces thereof alternatively into operating position withrelation to the welt support, and means to operate the hammer to engageand beat out the welt.

i. A welt beating machine, having, in combination, asupport for the weltof a lasted shoe, a reciprocatory welt beating hammerhaving welt beatingfaces of different characters and arranged to rotate to bring the weltbeating faces thereof alternatively into operating position withrelation to the welt support, and means to reciprocate the hammer.

5. A welt beating machine, having, in combination, a support for thewelt of a lasted shoe shaped to enter the crease between the upper andwelt and permit the welt to be fed thereover during the operation of themachine, a welt beater having a welt beatingface formed with a series ofwedge-shaped ridges, said heater being arranged for actuation to bringsaid welt heating face into engagement with the welt on the support withthe ridges extending transversely of the welt and disposed with theirdiverging ends nearer the outer edge of the welt, and means foractuating the welt beater to deliver a series of blows in rapidsuccession on the welt.

6. A welt beating machine, having, in combination, a welt support, awelt beating hammer, a. hammer lever in which the hammer is supported,means for yieldingly and rotatably supporting the hammer in the hammerlever comprising a sleeve slidingly mounted in the hammer lever, a coilspring surrounding and engaging said sleeve to cushion the movementthereof, and a shaft rotatably mounted in said sleeve upon which saidhammer is carried.

I. A welt beating machine, having,- in combination, a welt support, awelt beating hammer, a hammer lev r, means for yieldingly and rotatablysupporting the hammer in the hammer lever comprising a sleeve slidablymounted in the hammer lever, a lrey to prevent turning movement of thesleeve in the hammer lever, a coil spring surrounding and engaging saidsleeve to cushion the movement thereof, a stop to limit the movement ofsaid sleeve under the action of the spring, and a shaft rotatablymounted in said sleeve and held from longitudinal movement therein onwhich shaft said hammer is carried.

8. A velt beating machine, having, in combination, a welt support, awelt beating hammer, a hammer lever, means to yieldingl v and rotatablysupport the hammer on the hammer lever comprising an adj ustable sleevemounted in a bore in the hammer lever, a second sleeve slidably mountedin said first sleeve, a key to prevent turning movement of the secondsleeve with relation to the hammer lever, a coil spring surrounding thesecond sleeve and engaging both said sleeves for cushioning the movementof the second sleeve, an adjustable stop for limiting the movement ofthe second sleeve under the action of the spring, and a shaft rotatablymounted in the second sleeve but held from longitudinal movementtherein, on which shaft said hammer is carried.

9. A welt beating machine, having, in combination, a rotatable weltbeating hammer, a rotatable shaft on which said hammer is mounted, aflexible member passing about said shaft, a tension spring connectedwith said member for maintaining the hammer normally in one position,and means for moving said member against the tension of the spring torotate the shaft and the hammer, said spring acting to restore thehammer to its initial position upon the release of said means.

10. A welt beating machine, having, in combination, a rotatable weltbeating hammer, a flexible member connected with said hammer, and meansunder control of the operator to actuate said member to rotate thehammer.

11. A welt beating machine, having, in combination, a rotatable weltbeating hammer, a rotatable shaft on which said hammer is mounted, aflexible member passing about said shaft, a tension spring connectedwith shaft arran ed for rotation in. the hammer 4! lever, on which shaftthe hammer is mounted, a flexible member passing about the second shaftand extending rearwardly through aslot in the first shaft, a tensionspring connected with one extremity of said member for maintaining thehammer in one posi tion, a lever connected with the other extremity ofsaid member, and means for actuating the second lever to draw theflexible member about the second shaft and thereby rotate the hammer.

13. A welt beating machine, having, in combination, a welt support, awelt beating hammer having a smooth welt beating face, and a second weltbeating face formed with a series of ridges, said hammer being arrangedfor actuation to bring the smooth face thereof into operative position,or the rigid welt beating face into operative posi tion with the ridgeson the face thereof eX- tending transverse to the welt.

l l. A welt beating machine, having, in combination, a welt support, arotary welt beating hammer having welt beating faces formed thereon andarranged in a plane substantially perpendicular to the axis of thehammer, and series of ridges formed on one of said faces extendingoutwardly from the axis of the hammer.

15. A welt beating machine, having in combination, a support for thewelt of a lasted shoe, a beater having a welt beating face the weltengaging surface of which is interrupted by one or more blunt facedprojections and means for actuating the beater to cause each of theprojections to distort and reshape the substance of the welt and form anindentation therein.

16. A welt beating machine, having in combination a suwort for the weltof a lasted shoe, a welt beater having a welt beating face the weltengaging surface of which is interrupted by one or more blunt facedribs, and means to actuate the heater to cause each of the ribs todistort and reshape the substance of the welt and form a furrow in thewelt.

17. A welt beating machine, having, in combination, a welt beater, avibratory welt support, and means for vibrating the welt support withrelation to the welt beater in the general direction of the line offeed.

18. A welt beating machine, having in combination, a support for thewelt of a lasted shoe, welt heating means having welt beating faces ofdifferent characters and formed with one or more ridges, and means meansto actuate the Welt beating means to for actuating the beater t0 brlngsaid faces beat out the portion of the Welt supported alternatively intooperating position.

on the Welt support. AUGUSTINE FRANK LITTLEFIELD.

1.9. A Welt beating machine, having, in Witn'es'ses': combination, aWelt support, a Welt beater NELSON XV. HOWARD,

having Welt beating faces one of which is WI'LLIAM B. KING.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

It is hereby certified that in Letters Patent No. 1,165,789, grantedDecember 28, 1915, upon the application of Augustine Frank Littlefield,of Lynn, Massachusetts,

for an improvement in Welt-Beating Machines, an error appears in theprinted specification vrequiring correction as follows: Page 5, line 94,claim 13, for the Word rigid read ridged; and that the said LettersPatent should be read with this correction therein that the same mayconform to the record of the case in the Patent Ofiice.

Signed and sealed this 15th day of February, A. D., 1916.

R. F. WHITEHEAD,

Acting Commissioner of Patents.

[SEAIQM] Cl. l267.2.

